Blades of Destiny
by Zelkin
Summary: Sephiroth, Jenova and the Meteor have been stopped once and for all. But could there be a new danger on the horizon, or is it just a familiar foe who just hasn't been defeated yet? *NOTE: Chapter 3 just uploaded! R&R pls!*
1. Restoration

Note: This is my first fanfiction(well on fanfiction.net, but I've written in other sites. And no, I won't tell you what sites.). I hope you will enjoy this fanfiction.  
  
Sephiroth, Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart and all the other characters of Final Fantasy VII are all trademarks of Squaresoft co. ltd.  
  
----------------------------- border line ------------------------------  
  
Blades of Destiny  
Chapter 1: Restoration  
  
A large, green light blinded them all from within the cockpit of the Highwind. The explosion, brought upon by the impact of the Meteor against the powers of both Holy and the entire force of the Lifestream, had caused blasts of pure Mako energy to propel outwards, towards the Highwind and the now-fallen Midgar.  
  
"Cloud! Where are you?!?!" cried Tifa. Everyone was tumbling around and around the room of the cockpit, due to the uncontrollable engines and movements of the Highwind itself.  
  
"Oh, shit!" Cid cried. Cloud had been impaled in the chest by a large, sharp piece of metal. It had come from the top of the cockpit and had served as a part of the large metal balance beam which supported the roof of the cockpit. The explosion had caused a piece of the beam to separate from it, yet the majority of the beam remained intact. It had impaled his chest, but narrowly missed his heart yet punctured his lung.  
  
"Damn spikey-headed foo'!" shouted Barret, as he ran over to Cloud. Cid followed behind him, as did Tifa. Tifa was screamed when she saw Cloud.  
  
"… get out of the way." ordered Vincent. Vincent Valentine, the enigma of the party stepped foreward and grabbed onto the large metal spike which was impaled into Cloud's chest. With all his strength, he broke off a section of the spike, leaving only the sharp end.  
  
"Cid, it is advisable that you drive the ship away from Midgar. I will not be able to fully pull the spike out in this condition." Said Vincent to Cid. Cid nodded and ran toward the wheel, pushing away the pilot. Using his incredible piloting skills, Cid was able to steer the Highwind far enough away from Midgar, bringing the Highwind back to stability.  
  
"Will Cloud be alright?" asked Red XIII, a look of extreme worry on his face.  
  
Yuffie Kisaragi, the Materia Hunter smiled in reply. "He'll be fine, that dope! He's been in fixes worse than this!" Yuffie, trying to be the cheerful girl that she is, said that to keep Red XIII hoping for Cloud. Yuffie, on the other hand, had no idea if Cloud would be alright or not.  
Cait Sith turned Cloud over on his stomach. Cloud groaned in agony as Vincent pulled out the large, pointed metal edge.  
  
"… It is done." Stated Vincent in his monotone and usual voice. Cait made the large moogle he was riding raise it's hands above his head in preperation to cast a Cure 3 spell.  
  
"Oh Cloud…" cried Tifa. Tears were running down her cheek as she dropped down to her knees. Was this how Cloud Strife, the one who saved the world from Sephiroth and Jenova, going to meet his end?  
  
Cait Sith, finally gathering sufficient strength, blasted a light of healing power at Cloud. Doing so partially healed the wound. It seems magic isn't going to be enough thought Reeve from his hiding place under Midgar. Vincent ripped his long red cape off of himself and wrapped his chest with it. The bleeding had stopped, but Cloud was not out of danger yet.  
  
Barret, who was standing over to the front window of the Highwind's cockpit pointed in the distance towards the now-rising Meteor.  
  
"Lookit dat!" shouted Barret, as the Meteor started to rise higher and higher. Everyone followed and looked over at the window. Cid, himself stared at wide-eyed amazement at the power of the planet.  
  
"Let's just hope that fuckin' Meteor don't get any stronger than it is now…" stated Cid. His hope turned into a sigh of content as the Meteor was finally pushed high out of the Planet's atmosphere by a beam of green Mako energy. The Meteor was then propelled into the core of the Sun, incinerating the massive form of the Ultimate Destructive Magic.  
  
"Uhh… what happened..? OW!" Cloud Strife said, laying his right hand over his chest in pain.  
  
"CLOUD! Don't try to move, you were injured while we were in the vicinity of the Holy!" cried Tifa. Cloud could see that she was crying as tears had continued streaking down her cheek.  
  
"Oh Tifa…" Cloud said as he caressed Tifa's cheek with his right hand. Tifa continued sobbing and buried her face into Cloud's shoulder. She started beating on Cloud's chest as she cried.  
  
"OW! Damnit, that hurts!" cursed Cloud. Tifa stopped crying and smiled shyly as she blushed and pushed herself away from Cloud.  
  
"… sorry, Cloud." Tifa apologized. Cloud simply nodded.  
  
"Ok, ok lovebirds, break it up!" said Cid in a superior fashion. "Goddamn kids today, don't know when to stop being so damn horny…"  
  
"CID!" cried Yuffie.  
  
"Alright, damnit I'll shut up!" shouted Cid. "So what the hell we gonna do now, huh?" asked Cid to Cloud.  
  
"Well, how should I know?" replied Cloud.  
  
"You're the goddamn leader!" shouted Barret.  
  
"Hell yeah!" shouted Cid in reply.  
  
"… we should go back to Midgar. We'll meet up with Reeve when we get there," replied Cloud. He then turned to Cait Sith and asked, "is that alright with you, Reeve?"  
  
Cait Sith, who was, in reality, Reeve of the Urban Development Section of Midgar, jumped up and down. "Sure thing Cloud. I'll be happy to see you guys here!" Reeve, feeling happy from under Midgar, made a sigh of relief. Finally… I did something that was right… Reeve thought to himself. The Highwind then proceeded to make its way towards the now-decimated Midgar.   
  
After a few minutes, the Highwind finally made its way in front of the ruins of Midgar. It had landed a few yards away from Midgar. Cloud and the party walked out of the Highwind and towards the gate to Sector 7 and entered the slums. They found themselves in front of the church- the very church where Aeris and Cloud first met. Cloud can remember it like it was yesterday. Tears started to run down his cheek as he hung his head and looked at the ground. Tifa was shocked, as this was the first time she had seen Cloud cry.  
  
"Cloud, I…" but Tifa hesitated as she extended her hand to reach out and hold Cloud's shoulder. Tifa realized this is a sadness only Cloud can overcome and even she would not be able to help him overcome it.  
  
Cloud raised his head back up, empty of tears. He smiled. "I'm alright, Tifa don't worry about me!" he stated. They continued on their way. All of a sudden, Cait Sith had stopped in his tracks. The moogle had sat down on the floor and the cat(Cait Sith himself) had slouched and stopped his movements. Cait Sith had shut down.  
  
"CAIT!" cried Yuffie as she stared at the inactive Cait Sith with disbelief. Did something happen to Reeve?   
  
Cloud looked back and shook his head. "We have no choice but to leave Cait here. We'll come back for him later." But his words did not comfort Yuffie. Yuffie seemed worried about Reeve for some odd reason. Unfortunately, Cloud was right, they had to move on. And so they did.  
  
After 30 minutes of walking through Sector 7, a man wearing a blue suit approached them. He had a beard and was quite tall. This man was, undoubtedly, Reeve.  
  
"Hello, Reeve," said Cloud.  
  
"… Hello, Cloud," replied Reeve reluctantly. Cloud extended his right arm for a handshake and Reeve whole-heartedly accepted. Yuffie had a look of worry on her face when she saw Reeve. She was also happy to see him, but she didn't show it. She wasn't the type of girl to show her feelings.  
  
Reeve turned to everyone and greeted them, each in turn with a friendly handshake. When he got to Barret, he was overwhelmed by the power of his mighty left arm. Finally, he turned to Yuffie.  
  
"Hi, Yuffie!" he said in a very cheerful voice. Yuffie started sobbing then, finally ran into Reeve's arms and cried.  
  
"When Cait shut down… I thought… and when… then…" cried Yuffie. Everyone was awestruck at the unusual show of emotion from Yuffie. Reeve merely laughed  
  
"It's alright. See? I'm ok." laughed Reeve. Yuffie hit Reeve in the stomach.  
  
"Don't EVER do that to me again, Reeve!" she shouted. Reeve continued to laugh.  
  
"Ok guys, follow me! We'll go into the shelter." he said. He lead them into the opening to the sewer under Midgar and into several tunnels which lead deeper into the ground. Finally, they found themselves inside a large subterranean cavern which looked like a city of some sort, made of stone. People were walking around laughing and having fun. All of Midgar's inhabitants were safe.  
  
"Incredible…" said Red XIII with amazement as he saw the many stone houses and buildings. Eventually, they reached a small stone house. The inside looked like an executive office from the Shinra HQ. This was obviously where Reeve had stayed and controlled Cait Sith.  
  
"So, this is where you live, eh Reeve?" asked Cloud. "Looks like you haven't left the Shinra yet."  
  
"If he didn't, I'd 'ave bashed this foo's head into his skull." shouted Barret as he looked at Reeve suspiciously. Reeve merely smiled.  
  
"No, I just transferred all my stuff here to this small office. It gave me more control over Cait Sith from here." he stated. Vincent had a look of curiosity on his face.  
"Reeve, are the Turks all right?" wondered Vincent.  
  
"Quite all right actually." Replied Reeve.  
  
"… I believe there is a reason why you have called us here." stated Vincent after hearing Reeve's reply.  
  
"Indeed. I have decided to rebuild Midgar." he said.  
  
"REBUILD MIDGAR! I knew this guy wuz up to no good! He just wants to do what the Shinra did and take over!" Barret shouted as he was about to shoot Reeve with his gun-arm.  
  
"Barret, wait!" Cloud stopped him. "Ok Reeve, tell us how you're going to rebuild Midgar WITHOUT the use of Mako Reactors." asked Cloud.  
  
"Oh, I'm going to use Mako Reactors…" said Reeve. This apparently angered Cloud as he was gripping onto the hilt of his Buster Sword from his back. Reeve continued to smile. "But I'm not going to use any ordinary Mako Reactors. I've developed technology that will allow the Mako Reactors to utilize the Planet's power but instead of totally expending it's power, it will recycle the power back into the Planet and continue the flow of the Lifestream! By using some special Materia I developed myself, I'll be able to complete that same process using them as the catalyst for the recycling process! It follows Aeris' principle: 'Use and return that which the Planet has given you'…"  
  
Cloud sighed at the hearing of Aeris' name. "Aeris…" and everyone silently hangs their heads. Cloud looks up and smiles again. "Well, I think it's a great idea Reeve."  
  
"You do?" replied Reeve.  
  
"Yep. And I'll help in the construction of the Reactors." nods Cloud.  
  
"Great!" shouted Reeve enthusiastically. He takes out the blueprints and gives them to Cloud.  
  
"So… these are the schematics?" asked Cloud. Reeve nodded.  
  
"Alright everyone, let's rebuild Midgar!" cried Yuffie.   
  
"Um… we'll start tomorrow, Yuffie." said Reeve.  
  
"Oh… alright!" Yuffie said with much embarrassment. Her cheeks were flushed red as they walked towards the Inn.  
  
  
  
- End of Chapter 1.  



	2. Resurrection

Blades of Destiny  
Chapter 2- Resurrection  
  
Death.  
  
Emptiness...  
  
... nothingness.  
  
That was all Sephiroth could feel from deep within the Planet's depths. He could see nothing, hear nothing. But he did indeed feel something. An empty, emotionless void.  
  
"Where am I?" asked Sephiroth to himself. He stood up, as he had felt that he had been lying down. His right hand reached out, as if trying to grab something that was his from within that deep emptiness.  
  
... but he felt nothing. The Masamune was not with him.  
  
"... I remember now. Cloud Strife... he..." Sephiroth was left shocked and dumbfounded at his fate. He had fallen by the blade of one who was supposed to be inferior to him.   
  
... he lost to a mere puppet; a shadow of himself.  
  
Sephiroth hit the ground with his fist, or at least hit something that felt like the ground. In the place that he was in, there was no level or altitude. Either his mind was playing games with him or he was in the very place he dreaded to go. He was in the very void of death.  
  
Impossible, he thought. I am the son of Jenova, the almighty! Why am I left to dwell in the eternal darkness of Death? Then, it struck him. This was an illusion of the Planet, to keep him from returning to the surface world.  
  
Sephiroth laughed to himself as he realized the folly of his ways, of his current situation. He had the power to destroy everything and he did not bother to use it.  
  
"I am alive!" he said, staring into the great nothingness. He looked up, as if he was staring right into the eyes of the Planet itself. "You cannot keep me here! I shall destroy you, and all the you hold dear! Not even Death himself can keep me from accomplishing my mission! I shall fulfill Mother's task! I was destined to rule over you!"  
  
A wave of dark aura had begun to surround him. He started to feel alive and more powerful than ever. The energy of Jenova was flowing once more into his veins. And it felt good. To him, feeling the power of Jenova flow once more through his veins was the ultimate high. Little did he know, that the power flowing into him was the last of Jenova's dark energy.  
  
... he was becoming the final advent of Jenova herself.  
  
"Do you see it now?" he asked the nothingness. Indeed, he did feel as if he was talking to the very Planet itself. "Mother has given me her power! And now, nothing will stop me from destroying your Guardian... the one you call Cloud Strife!"  
  
Sephiroth had started to feel his heart beating, his blood flowing. He could feel his adrenaline rushing and his mind racing. It felt like the first time he had been in his first mission in SOLDIER. Suddenly, his back started to feel pain... an excruciating pain that would only be compared by the pain he felt when Cloud struck him with the all-powerful Omni-Slash. Finally, a pair of large, white wings sprouted out of his back. He arched his back in pain, his eyes wide open in shock and amazement. Then he fell to the floor on his knees, breathing heavily, his once magnificent black coat tattered and destroyed by his transfiguration.  
  
After a while of resting he stood up. He raised his right hand, the Masamune appearing as if being called by its master. Sephiroth himself smiled an evil smile; the same smile he made right before his final battle with Cloud Strife. He had the power to overcome the Omni-Slash.  
  
He had the power to destroy everything...  
  
... he had the power of a God.  
  
He had been resurrected, like a Phoenix from its ashes. He looked up again, Masamune in hand.  
  
"No, Planet. Not even the powers of your Lifestream will be able to hold me down. Not even the shackles of Death will be able to contain me. I am Sephiroth, the everlasting. No longer the One Winged Angel you thought I was. Now, Planet... now..." he laughed evilly and maniacally as if he had succeeded in overpowering something far greater than he. In reality he did.  
  
"... Now, I am your very equal." and with that, a burst of energy erupted from him, and his dark, empty prison was shattered. He laughed as he heard the Planet scream in pain and agony.   
  
***  
  
"Sir!" cried an archaeologist to another who was a few yards away, examining a large jet which had crashed. It looked like it was several hundred years old compared to the current technology.  
  
"Yes, what is it Hardin?" asked the other, much older archaeologist.  
  
"Professor Zelt, I found this strange looking device over here near the entrance to the Forest." Hardin showed Zelt a small, round object with strange runes. Zelt took it and examined the device.  
  
"... Cetra." he murmured to himself. Hardin had a look of pure stupidity.  
  
"Cetra? You mean Ancients, Professor?" asked Hardin.  
  
"Indeed. It looks like a record of some sort..." he replied. Zelt turned the small disc-like device over and saw a small button.  
  
"Sir, maybe you shouldn't touch it yet. We should have it registered at the Archaeological Insitute over in Neo-Midgar or have it examined at Cosmo Canyon..." said Hardin. But the Proffessor did not heed Hardin's warning.  
  
"Hardin, we have to figure out what this thing is for! It might mean something as to what happened to the..." he was interrupted as the disc opened up and a small pipe-like structure had come out of it.   
  
"It's a projector..." concluded Hardin. Zelt nodded in reply. Suddenly, a strange light erupted from the shaft of the projector. It was just a light, no special properties or images on it. Hardin and Zelt looked at the light curiously.  
  
"If it's a projector, then something should've been shown. I see nothing." stated Zelt. Hardin on the other hand, had decided to stick his right hand into the light. Suddenly, Hardin's eyes went into a deep shade of green, contrary to his black color.  
  
"Hardin!" cried Zelt. After a few seconds, Hardin's eyes returned to the black color they once were.  
  
"Hardin!" repeated Zelt. "What the hell happened to you?!?!"  
  
Hardin shook his head in amazement. He had a look of utter disbelief and shock. "Prophecy..." he muttered.  
  
"Prophecy?!?!" shouted Zelt. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Hardin shook his head and pointed upward, towards where the Northern Crater is. Zelt looked towards there and saw an aura of dark energy pulsate from it. What followed was something that suprized Zelt, but Hardin merely stared.  
  
A beam of dark light blasted out of the Northern Crater, flying straight up. After several minutes of the beam cutting through the clouds, large wings formed on the sides of the beam. Finally, the beam dissipated and the looming form of the now-resurrected Sephiroth had begun to float above the Crater. Finally, the winged Sephiroth flied at demonic speed to the west, away from the Northern Continent.   
  
"That was..." started Zelt. Hardin cut him off, his head hung and his eyes looking down at the ground.  
  
"... the Dark Angel, Sephiroth." said Hardin, with much fear in his voice.  
  
With that, they ran, back towards their airship, away from the surrounding forest of Bone Village.  
  
... Indeed, it was Sephiroth.... the Dark Angel, Sephiroth.  
  
  



	3. Retribution

Blades of Destiny  
Chapter 3- Retribution  
  
A whole year had passed since the Neo-Midgar project had gone underway. Indeed, Reeve's plan of creating Mako Reactors which actually recycled Mako energy back into the Lifestream had been a success and the inhabitants of Neo-Midgar had forgotten the destruction that had befallen them a year before.  
  
Neo-Midgar was much larger than the original Midgar in terms of structure. It had spread out far, up to the deep brown, barren parts of the land that had once surrounded the old Midgar. Like the original Midgar, Neo-Midgar was divided into 8 different sectors, though much larger and much spread out that before. No longer was there a patch of barren land around the city- the surrounding area was completely full of green. There was something different about Neo-Midgar though: the reactors were nowhere to be seen.  
  
Neo-Midgar had looked and felt different that the very first Midgar. Instead of it being a dark and metalic city like it was before, it was now a combination of techno-metallic buildings with the green and beauty of the Planet's trees and grass. In essence, the city of Neo-Midgar had both the ingenuity of humanity and the peace and tranquility of the Planet. Could this mean that the Planet is once again in tune with man?  
  
***  
  
3 people were sitting in a bar together drinking some beer. Consisting of 2 males and 1 female, they were all wearing a uniform of a suit.  
  
"Are we on assignment?" asked the yellow haired girl who was with the men.  
  
"No Elena, we're off duty." replied the man with long black hair.   
  
"... oh." replied Elena. "But Reno, why don't we just be on alert or something in case something comes up from HQ?"  
  
"... Elena. We're Turks. We know when we're needed." replied the bald man with sunglasses.  
  
"But Rude..." retaliated Elena. Rude simply stared at her silently.  
  
A few minutes later, a man with long straight black hair entered, wearing the Turks uniform. Elena, Reno and Rude stood up and saluted him.  
  
"... at ease, Turks." ordered Tseng. At his command, the Turks sat back down. Tseng walked over to them, who ordered a drink.  
  
"What's up, Sir?" asked Elena. Tseng didn't bother to look at Elena.  
  
"Elena... you know you don't have to hold a grudge against Strife. He did not attack me in the Temple a year ago."  
  
"I know... but isn't he our enemy?"  
  
The other Turks looked at Elena with surprise. Rude was the first one to reply.  
  
"... he is not our enemy anymore."  
  
"I know, but..."  
  
"That's enough Elena," said Tseng. "I've heard enough. It's time I relayed our orders."  
  
"Orders?" wondered Elena. Suddenly, her eyes sparked with excitement. "YES! We finally have a job!" she shouted.  
  
"Ehh..." began Reno. He didn't seem to be up to it.  
  
"Reno, shut up and listen, alright?" ordered Tseng.   
  
"Fine."  
  
"Ok listen up, we're going to Nibelheim to investigate the sudden re-initialization of the Retro-Mako Reactor. Seems someone in the town's been fiddling with the old technology and we need to destroy it..." said Tseng. He then passed out long, red envelopes to each of them. "We each have individual orders and we're to follow them throughout the mission. We'll be accompanied by 5 SOLDIER members."  
  
Elena opened her red envelope excitedly. When she read the papers in it, she had a look of great happiness on her face.  
  
"These orders... they... they're directly from..." stuttered Elena.  
  
Following suit immediately, the others opened their envelopes. Tseng also looked a bit surprised as he opened his and read the papers.  
  
"... directly from the Commander..." said Rude.  
  
"He... he wants us to report to him before we initiate the mission." said Tseng.  
  
"It's from the Commander! I can't believe it!" said Elena, jumping up and down.  
  
"Stop that, Elena. You're a Turks." said Reno. Everyone in the bar was looking at Elena.  
  
"... oops." said Elena, blushing.  
  
"Let's go." ordered Tseng. And, almost in unison, they left the bar for the Neo-Shinra HQ.  
  
***  
  
"Hey!" said a worker running towards another worker.  
  
"Huh? What is it?" he replied.  
  
"The Boss just gave us the plans for the coal reactor!" said that man. He was holding blueprints for a reactor specially designed to extract inert energy from coal.  
  
"REALLY?!?!" jump the other man. He immediately took them and ran to the other workers, who immediately huddled around the man with the blueprints.  
  
"HEY! WHA' ARE YA FOO'S DOIN'?!?!" shouted a large man with one arm. Immediately, he began shooting in the air with his right arm, immediately getting the attention of the workers.  
  
"Agh! It's Barret!" they all shouted.  
  
"Why y'all slacking off?!?! Hurry up and build that damn reactor already!" ordered Barret with his stern voice.  
  
"Yessir!" they all shouted in reply. And they all started running towards the coal mine in the mountains.  
  
"Corel'll never get back on track if none of dem foo's ever start working again..." mumbled Barret to himself.  
  
"Daddy!" cried a little girl, who was running towards Barret.  
  
"Marlene! How many times do I 'ave ta tell ya never ta come here to Corel until we finish the reactor?!?" said Barret.  
  
"I'm sorry, I missed you and I couldn't help but go to you..." said Marlene as she started to cry.  
  
"Agh! Don' cry! Jes' next time, you tell your Papa that you wanna come along, alright?" said Barret softly.  
  
"... okay..." replied Marlene.  
  
"Good. Now c'mon we'll go to da mines and check on da reactor. After dat, we'll go back to North Corel, okay?"  
  
"Okay!"  
  
And Barret picked the small girl up on his shoulders and he walked to the mines.  
  
***  
  
"Sir!" shouted a SOLDIER Cadet. His eyes were Mako green. He was wearing a long sleeve purple shirt with 2 shoulder pads and a blade suspender with matching purple pants and black boots. He was trying to catch up with someone as he turned the corner of the 1st floor of the SOLDIER Branch of Neo-Shinra HQ.  
  
"Sir!" he shouted again. Finally, the man he was chasing after stopped in his tracks. He had been chasing after Cloud Strife the Commander of the new SOLDIER.  
  
"What's up, Cadet?" he said with much curiousity.  
  
"Sir," began the Cadet, "we just got this request from the Turks branch!" he finished, handing Cloud a small, business sized red envelope. He opened it and read it silently. Afterwards he pocketed it and looked back at the cadet with a smile.  
  
"Cadet, find SOLDIERs 4th class Kent, 4th class Mikail, 3nd class Rein, 2nd class Genko and 1st class Meta and tell them to report to the Commander of the Turks. Tell them..." said Cloud. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and thought for awhile. Finally he said, "tell them, they have a mission." And with that, the Cadet ran towards the elevator which lead to the Turks branch.  
  
***  
  
"ATTEN-TION!" shouted Tseng, and Reno, Rude and Elena lined up in a horizontal line with Tseng standing a few feet away from them, his left arm spread out in command. Once they were aligned, Tseng nodded and dropped his arm, lookind directly at a man with a red cape who had his back turned. Reno, Rude and Elena did the same and looked at him.  
  
"... Hello, Turks." said the man, who continued to have his back turned.   
  
"You asked for us, Sir?" said Tseng.  
  
"Yes. You 4 in particular." he said with a very monotone voice.  
  
"But why us, Sir? You could've sent the other Turks who are here..."  
  
"... You 4 are the best of the Turks. That is why I asked for you 4." Immediately, Elena started to blush, but Reno jabbed her in the ribs with his elbow lightly. Elena felt like punching Reno, but didn't want to do so in the Commander's presence. Suddenly, 5 SOLDIERS entered the office in perfect flight platoon squad form, and did so with incredible ease and without an officer.  
  
"... so. You are the 5 SOLDIERs Cloud sent. Interesting." the man in the red cape said as he turned around. The Commander of the Turks was Vincent Valentine, the enigmatic and mysterious shadow of the party who helped destroy Jenova a year before.  
  
"Yes, Commander Vincent, Sir!" said a rather enthusiastic female SOLDIER.  
  
"Meta," said Vincent "I am looking forward to seeing you in action. I've heard a great deal from Cloud about you. If you are as good as your fellow SOLDIERs say, you may end up being a Lieutenant sooner than you think..." with that, Meta, the 1st class SOLDIER smiled slightly.  
  
"... enough." said Vincent. As always, every word he said was in monotone, yet he had a stern sort of feeling in his voice which usually made all those around him stop. "It is time for you to start the mission. Get out of here." ordered Vincent. And with that, the Turks and the SOLDIERs left. Elena, though had stood there, looking at Vincent entranced.   
  
"Sir, I..." started Elena. Vincent merely turned around and looked out the window. Elena hung her head and began walking out.  
  
"... good luck, Elena." muttered Vincent. Elena stopped in her tracks and looked back at Vincent. She stood at attention and saluted him.  
  
"Thank you, Sir!" she said, blushing.  
  
"... Indeed." said Vincent emotionlessly. Elena though, felt extremely giddy when she heard him say that.  
  
"Elena!" said Reno quietly from the door, "Get over here, NOW! Tseng's gonna get mad at ya!"  
  
"Oh! Right!" she said, walking out of the office of Vincent.  
  
***  
  
Cloud was sitting in his room alone, remembering the past. Most of his thoughts though were of the beautiful and gentle flower girl he had fallen in love with... the same flower girl who had summoned the power of Holy upon the Planet along with the force of the Lifestream to stop Meteor. He closed his eyes and remembered the conversation he had with Tifa Lockhart, his childhood friend whom he now loved very much....  
  
"Cloud..." said Tifa who was making a drink for Cloud in her bar in Sector 7. "It's not your fault Aeris died..."  
  
"Maybe... but I could've done something to help her... like push her out of the way, or to block the Masamune's blade with my own body..."  
  
"And sacrifice yourself just for her?!?!" shouted Tifa "She saved the Planet in exchange for her life! She knew she wasn't going to live long. And even if you did help her, you would've died in her place...."  
  
"Better me than her! She..." Cloud had began to cry. Remembering Aeris was very painful for him. "She... she didn't deserve to die that way..."  
  
"Oh Cloud..." she said as she took Cloud into her arms for a loving and comforting embrace. "You know better than that... there wasn't any way for you to save her..."  
  
"Tifa..." he said as he peered into her beautiful red eyes.  
  
"Cloud..."  
  
"Aeris... did you have to die...?" he said, looking up at the ceiling of his room in the SOLDIER branch of Neo-Shinra HQ. "Maybe Tifa's right... I'm the one holding you down on this Planet. It's time for you to go to your Promised Land I guess... goodbye... Aeris..." he said as he closed his eyes and fell asleep....  
  
  
-End of Chapter 3  
  
  



End file.
